World in Progress

In Which the Party Makes Some Amazing Discoveries

After finding out that the Crestwood Mercantile had used its influence to block Alvar Tuule’s business dealings, the merchant had no way to sell his goods in Crestwood. Hoping to sell his supplies in the southern town of Carbourne, Alvar begged the party to escort him and his caravan one last time.

The caravan safely arrived at Carbourne, despite getting set upon by a gnoll ambush at the halfway point along the road. When the party arrived at Carbourne, they discovered the city was in the middle of the Festival of Roses. While Alvar Tuule did his business with the local branch of the Royal Traders’ Society, the party was left free to roam.

While Kayomie and Jirou made a name for themselves as party-goers, Vadania and Wes enjoyed themselves and explored the town. While passing a store front, they discovered a small statuette that was nearly identical to the one held by the banshee. While hers appeared to be a small cat-like bride in gowns, this one is dressed as a dapper little gentleman. Suspecting the two are somehow connected, Vadania purchased it from the storekeeper.

While speaking to townsfolk, Vadania learned of a legendary dragon rider that lived near Carbourne. According to the villagers, the Cavalier Kael’estra was a mighty hero who rode into battle on a beautiful radiant dragon. After many years of triumphant battle, the cavalier retired to a mansion east of Carbourne, though nobody has seen her for years. Some say the reason she retired was because her dragon fell in battle, and she sealed herself away from society.

Unfortunately, the area around her villa had since been overrun by undead. Known as the Barrow Fens, the lands were once used as burial grounds for kings and lords. About forty years prior, a dark force entered the land and has slowly been spreading out. The party traveled east to the ruins of Romero, where they encountered and defeated many undead.

After traveling through Romero, the party discovered the Cavalier’s manor, though the mansion has fallen into disrepair. While exploring the villa, the heroes discover many paintings, carvings and statues of the cavalier and are surprised by the sudden appearance of the dragon rider herself.

Despite being (reportedly) over a thousand years old, the elven woman appeared exactly as she did in the paintings. After inviting the players into her home, she enjoyed dinner with them and told them off her story. She told the group that her partner had died sometime before the end of the War of Four Kingdoms, and she retired to the villa near Romero. She goes on to say that she has not been able to tend to her partner’s tomb for quite some time, as a powerful undead presence in the tomb prevents her from entering.

The heroes soon discover that dark presence was actually connected to the banshee at the watchtower. The elven woman explained that the dark warrior was actually a great champion of the Kingdom of Crestwood, who fell in love with a woman of Aerie. The night before their wedding, he discovered she was a spy for Aerie, and ordered her death. Unwilling to witness her death himself, he rode to battle with his finest soldiers and left her to her fate. She professed her love right up to the moment she was hanged. When the warrior arrived at the battle he discovered that a lasting treaty had been signed, ending the war and making the execution of his beloved meaningless. Broken, the warrior left to wander Altyr. Forbidden to pass on to the next realm, he became an undead abomination and drew others to his presence.

The cavalier asked the party to find her partner’s tomb and destroy the dark warrior. In return she told them to take what they wanted from the treasures within. After destroying the monster, they discovered several of the dragon rider’s artifacts, along with the tomb. Engraved upon the sarcophagus was the inscription – Here lies Kael’estra Dragon Singer, warrior of Dol’Ara and dragon-sister to Kelianth the Radiant.

After collecting some of the treasure, the heroes left the crypt. As they headed back to the manor, they encountered the elven woman again. After thanking them for cleansing her partner’s tomb, she walked towards the crypt’s opening. As she passed the party, she transformed into her true form – Kelianth – an ancient radiant dragon. After her transformation, she laid at the base of the crypt, forever guarding her partner’s rest.

In Which the Party Learns of a Dangerous Competitor

After rescuing Alvar Tuule from the gray gnomes and gathering up the stolen supplies, the caravan continued on to Crestwood. Spared by Kayomie, the party allowed Reina dj’Sharn to travel with, though they kept her bound and gagged. Despite this, the druid’s former friend managed to vanish overnight. Still, the trip continued with very few difficulties.

After arriving in Crestwood, the party was taken to the local branch of the Royal Traders’ Society, where they met the guildmaster. The man was a kind elven man named Lorian Monet who informs the group that the guild has all but closed down. The guild hall, which would normally be busy and full of tradesman, is almost completely empty. Still, Lorian invites the party in and rewards them with a hearty and welcome meal.

Over dinner, Master Lorian explained that the Crestwood Mercantile had recently risen to prominence and taken over several other guilds in the process. The Royal Trader’s Guild had survived so far, but the Mercantile took most of the younger members. Making matters worse, the Mercantile has blocked Alvar Tuule’s business deal, preventing him from selling the goods he had shipped from Belligar.

Furious about the turn of events, Alvar brought the party to meet Werner Ananias, the new master of the Crestwood Mercantile. While intended as a show of force, there is nothing immediately threatening about the man, and nothing he has done seems to be illegal. His major domo, a young man named Cornelius, stood in his master’s shadow at all times, occasionally speaking up in his master’s defense. Although still suspicious of Werner and the Mercantile, Alvar Tuule and the party left empty handed.

After leaving, Alvar stormed back to his guild house fuming and cursing the entire trip. He still didn’t ’t trust Werner, and is certain that there was some sort of funny business going on. Several of the guilds and businesses that he had taken control over weren’t related to the Mercantile commerce in any way, and a few of the old masters had died, disappeared or otherwise left the business at convenient times.

With no way to sell his goods in Crestwood, Alvar begged the party to join him one last time to escort him and his supplies south to Carbourne. More than willing to assist their employer in his time of crisis, the party agreed.

In Which the Party Fights an Old Friend

After resting for the night, the party returned to the watchtower to explore the cellar under the garrison. There, the party found an escape tunnel that led into a large cavern. Pale, sickly vines clung to the walls of the tunnel, and the party was ambushed by several humanoid plant creatures. While fighting the creatures, the party discovered actual humans under the control of the choking vines. Held hostage by some strange necromatic magic, the party could not save the humans, and instead found the battle dragging on. The battle was suddenly halted by a shadowy person that seemed to control the plant creatures. After following the figure through another tunnel, they discovered the she was actually another survivor of Rin’lar and a friend of Kayomie’s.

The survivor was a huntress from Rin’lar named Reina Dj’sharn. According to Reina, the destruction of Rin’lar was the result of members of the Emeranth Emporium. She explains that a band of guild members entered the town trying to steal magic items and other equipment, a fire dragon’s egg among the treasure. Before the traders could leave the village, a massive fire dragon appeared and laid waste to the village. Reina was spared the destruction when she was accidentally knocked into a well. While in the well, the huntress had a vision of a pale white tree named Gulthias. The tree offered her incredible power, as long as she helped spread its seeds.

At this point, Reina offered Kayomie an invitation to join her quest for revenge against the civilization she blamed for the destruction of Rin’lar. When Kayomie turned down the offer, Raina attacked. Her hunter skills seemed augmented by some strange magic, and she almost succeeded in defeating the party. A well-placed hit by Vadania saved the group, however, and they explored the huntress’s lair. The party continued through the tunnel, which exited at the base of the watchtower’s hill.

In Which the Party Rescues the Kidnapped

After leaving the safety of the caravan on the highway behind, the party follows a blood trail up to the entrance of the keep. There, the party is ambushed by a large group of grey gnome in the outer courtyard. The battle there was long and perilous, and the dark creeper that fled the caravan disappeared into a two-story stone building.

While exploring the inner courtyard, the party discovers a dilapidated stable, barely standing under its own weight. Inside, they find a ghostly apparition who turns to the party. “WHERE IS MY BELOVED!? DIDYOUSLAY MY BELOVED!?” She screamed at the party and managed to steal the souls of two of the members. The druid Kayomie and the paladin Vadania worked together to defeat the banshee but at great cost.

After defeating the banshee, the party attempted to speak with her, to little gain. They did discover that her “beloved” had disappeared at some point, and she died some 100 years prior. There was evidence that she died by hanging but it was not apparent whether she killed herself or was killed by someone else.

In Which the Party Gains an Employer and an Ally

After emerging from the laboratory victorious and with a new ally, the party returned to Belligar to rest and recover. Worried that the townsfolk might fear or attack the birdman, they arranged to sneak him into Wes’ shop. After a restful night, they woke the next morning to a buzz about town. Several people gathered around the town, pointing to a dark plume of smoke rising over the horizon to the west. After speaking with the local Wild Elves at the trade camp, the party discovered that the elves’ town of Rin’lar lay in the same direction, about a day’s travel.

The party agreed to check out the source of the fire, and headed west. As they approached the smoke, it became apparent that the fire came from Rin’lar. Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, the village had completely burned to the ground. One wild elf, a druid named Kayomie, had survived the fire and was tending to the bodies of the villagers. Although the druid did not trust the group, she begrudgingly joined the party.

They returned to Belligar with their new ally, and spent a few days tending to errands. Kayomie and the rest of the wild elves performed last rites for those who died during the fire. On the start of the third day, a young woman named Katrin approached the party with a proposition. Her father,Content Not Found: null, had left the day prior to handle some business in Crestwood. He left Katrin with the responsibility of arranging for a caravan of supplies to follow him. She already had the caravan drivers taken care of, and had hired a few guards. While the western road was relatively safe, Katrin wanted the extra security to protect the caravan.

The trip to Crestwood takes about 5 days, and began safely enough. By the start of the third day, the weather had turned dark and gray. About halfway through the day, while passing under the ruins of an ancient watchtower, the caravan came across Alvar Tuule’s ruined cart. While investigating the cart, the caravan came under attack by strange dark gnomes. After inspecting the road and interrogating a captured gnome, they discovered the businessman had been kidnapped and taken to the watchtower.

In Which the Party Finds a New Ally in a Strange Place

While the party relaxed and unwound at the local tavern, they overheard bits of gossip regarding a strange monster that was stealing local livestock. Most of the patrons in the bar dismissed the rumors as fantasy, but one farmer claimed that his son had seen the monster take one of the family’s sheep.

Travelling to the farm, the party spoke to the boy, who was happy to share the story of his experience. He described the monster as a short humanoid with dark-colored skin, leathery wings and spines that covered its entire body. He led the party to the edge of the woods, where he claimed the creature flew towards when it stole the sheep.

The party ventured into the woods, tracking the creature the best they could. After a few missteps, including stumbling onto a stirge nest, the party was able to pick up the trail along an old overgrown road. The road led them to a craggy hill, where they encountered the monster, a spined devil. The battle was brief, and even though the creature’s hide was too strong for the paladin’s blade and the rogue’s darts, the mage got a lucky strike with a magic missile and felled the creature.

While investigating the spined devil’s lair, the party discovered a tunnel that led to a large metal door and a strange laboratory within the craggy hill. While exploring the ruined lab, they discovered and defeated many strange enemies, including armored sentinels, a clutch of cockatrices and a crazed water elemental. While investigating a ruined laboratory chamber, they learned that one of the experiments had been resisting their experimentation. While the notes were limited on the subject, it seems likely that the subject escaped and destroyed much of the lab in the process.

While exploring the second level of the facility, the party discovered a series of holding cells. It appeared that all of the creatures within had escaped, with the exception of one. The adventurers discovered a young aarakocra in one of the cells, floating aloft in a column of blue light, seemingly held in stasis. After releasing him, he agreed to follow the party back to Belligar – for now.

In Which the Party Forms Over a Common Enemy

Although brought to the town of Belligar though different motivations, Vadania Silvervein and Wes became quick allies. Vadania had made her way to the small town over rumors of banditry in the area, and wished to lend her aid as a paladin. While approaching the town, she discovered a young girl under assault by several men. Vadania successfully drove them off and made fast friends with the wizard Wes.

Wes had recently come to the town herself. As an unsanctioned mage, she would have been hunted and either forced to join the Imperial Circle or be executed as a heretic. Instead, she fled across the mountains, heading towards a distant aunt’s home in Sturnheim. Unfortunately for Wes, the aunt had passed away some time prior, leaving her home and shop abandoned. After forging some official-looking documents, she presented herself as the deed-holder to the building, and reopened her aunt’s tailoring shop. She chanced across Vadania by accident, while returning from making a delivery to a farmhouse. Several highwaymen attacked her, threatening to take her coin and worse, when a young paladin rescued her.

Meanwhile, the assassin known as Jirou had infiltrated the same band of thieves that was attacking Belligar’s roads. He had lost track of a mark, the man to be his first kill as an assassin, and had tracked him to the Duchy of Crestwood. An informant had told him of the mark’s involvement in the banditry, and he had hoped to find more leads. Before he could, however, the barrel he was hiding in fell off a cart and drifted downstream, where he was stumbled upon by none other than Vadania and Wes.

The three decided to work together to try and put an end to the bandits, and after several pitched battles they stood victorious over the thieves’ camp. The elders of Belligar were gracious and thanked the young adventurers for their help, and rumors began to spread of their accomplishments.

The adventure log is where you list the sessions and adventures your party has been on, but for now, we suggest doing a very light “story so far” post. Just give a brief overview of what the party has done up to this point. After each future session, create a new post detailing that night’s adventures.

One final tip: Don’t stress about making your Obsidian Portal campaign look perfect. Instead, just make it work for you and your group. If everyone is having fun, then you’re using Obsidian Portal exactly as it was designed, even if your adventure log isn’t always up to date or your characters don’t all have portrait pictures.